Panthers’ attempt to build on Stanley Cup Final run begins with shutout loss to Wild
The Florida Panthers spent the majority of their season-opener against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday as the aggressor. The offense applied constant pressure. The energy was palpable.
One problem: They couldn’t get anything past Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson.
Forty-one shots on goal and more than twice as many shot attempts. Zero in the net.
The result: A 2-0 loss to the Wild at Xcel Energy Center to begin the franchise’s 30th season and its second under coach Paul Maurice as they try to build on last season’s unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Final.
It’s the first time the Panthers have lost their season opener since the 2019-2020 season when they fell 5-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s also just the second time in franchise history the Panthers were shut out in their first game of the season. The other came in the 1995-96 season, when the New Jersey Devils blanked the Panthers 4-0.
“Some of our best chance has never gone to the net,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “They did a really good job blocking shots.”
Brock Faber and Joel Eriksson Ek scored goals for Minnesota. Faber’s shot from the point midway through the first period — just the third shot on goal from the Wild — got past a screened Sergei Bobrovsky to open scoring. Eriksson Ek doubled the Wild’s lead with 7:06 left in the second period with a power play goal, scoring immediately off an offensive-zone draw while Minnesota had a 4-on-3 man advantage.
“It’s one of those nights when we didn’t get the points,” Bobrovsky said, “but it’s a long season in front of us. We just reset, regroup refocus and then get ready for the next one.”
Other than that, Florida kept Minnesota in check while its offense attempted to get anything past Gustavvson to no avail.
The Panthers had a 14-5 lead in shots on goal after the first period and 26-16 after 40 minutes. Florida fired off another 15 shots in the third period, including six on their lone power play of the final frame, but the Wild’s goaltender kept them at bay despite the onslaught.
Overall, the Panthers had 83 shot attempts to the Wild’s 39, 43 scoring chances to Minnesota’s 18 and 17 high-danger chances to the Wild’s six.
But the number that defined the game despite all the chances: Zero goals scored.
“We knew it was going to be a tough one here,” said defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. “We had some good looks in the first and then we got a little bit too pretty in the second. We got back to it in the third, had a couple good looks on the power play but their goalie stood on his head.”
This and that
▪ Center Sam Bennett, sidelined by a lower-body injury, is not with the Panthers on the road but Maurice said it “won’t be too much longer” until his return.
The Panthers play two more games on the road to start the season — Saturday at 4 p.m. against the Winnipeg Jets and Monday at 7 p.m. against the New Jersey Devils — before their first homestand begins Oct. 19.
▪ Nine players who were part of the Panthers’ lineup Thursday are new to the roster: Forwards Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich, Kevin Stenlund and Steven Lorentz; defensemen Ekman-Larsson, Dmitry Kulikov, Niko Mikkola and Uvis Balinskis; and backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
Samoskevich and Balinskis made their NHL debuts Thursday.
